Mishimatei

Teramachi Kyogoku Shopping Street in Kyoto is always busy with tourists. On one corner stands Mishima Tei, founded in 1873 and one of the city’s most famous and popular sukiyaki restaurants. This restaurant, which is in an atmospheric Kyoto-style townhouse that retains its original appearance, has long been a haunt of great writers and celebrities.

Taro Mishima is the restaurant’s fifth-generation head. When sourcing beef from a market, he buys an entire head of best-possible-quality Japanese Black, rather than worrying about particular brand names. Then, using his own unique aging methods, he brings out all the umami in the meat before offering it to customers. The special soy sauce (sukiyaki sauce) that also determines the final flavor is made with a secret recipe that Mishima has refined while still faithfully preserving its original character. The result is a flavor so good that many people have found themselves coming back time and again.

At Mishima Tei, diners can savor high-quality Japanese Black wagyu with fine-grained marbling and a mellow flavor enhanced through aging in the dishes of sukiyaki, oil-yaki, and shabu-shabu. The texture of the beef as it melts in the mouth offers the ultimate bliss. Many customers come from overseas to sample this culinary delight. When you visit Kyoto, be sure to call in at Mishima Tei and enjoy some of Japan’s best sukiyaki.

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